GENEVA, Ohio - - The Ball State women’s volleyball team led the Mid-American Conference with five student-athletes earning All-MAC honors as announced today by the league office and voted on by the MAC’s 12 head coach.

Ball State’s five All-MAC award winners are the most for the Cardinals in the same season since 1996, when BSU also had five total selections, including two first team honorees and three honorable mentions. The program record for All-MAC selections in a single season is six in 1994, which included two first team, two second team and two honorable mention honorees.

In addition, Ball State’s three All-MAC First Team award winners ties as the second-most in program history with the 1993 and 2000 squads. The Cardinals had a league-high and school-record four All-MAC First Team selections in 2011.

Mindy Marx, who earns All-MAC honors for the first time in her career, ranked second in the conference in league-only matches with a team-best .355 attack percentage, while her 1.03 blocks-per-set average was fifth. Marx smashed double-digit kills in nine league matches, including a career-high 19 last Saturday at Western Michigan. She also ranked 10th in league-only matches with a 2.90 kills-per-set average. At the net, Marx tallied four-or-more blocks in nine MAC matches, including a season-high eight versus Miami (Oct. 26).

Alex Fuelling, who earns All-MAC honors for the first time in her career, ranked first on the squad and fourth in the league with a 3.56 kills-per-set average in conference action. She smashed double-digit kills in 11 of the 12 league matches she played, including 21 versus Toledo (Nov. 7). In the backcourt, Fuelling was second on the team with a 3.51 digs-per-set average in conference play, racking up double-digit digs in each of her last eight MAC matches, including a career-high 23 at Ohio (Oct. 19). From behind the service line, Fuelling ranked second in the conference with a 0.31 aces-per-set average in MAC matches.

Hayley Benson, who earns All-MAC honors for the first time in her career, ranked second on the squad and fourth in the conference with a .344 attack percentage in league play. She averaged 2.73 kills and 0.83 blocks per set over BSU’s 16 league matches. Benson smashed a career-high 17 kills versus Toledo (Nov. 7), while posting double-digit kills in six league matches. She also tallied at least one block in every MAC match, with four-or-more six times.

Catie Fredrich, who is a two-time career All-MAC honoree after earning first team honors in 2011, was a two-time MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week during league play. She ranked fifth in MAC-only matches with a 5.15 digs-per-set average by posting double-digit digs in all 16 league outings. She collected 20-or-more digs eight times during MAC play, including a season-high 27 digs versus Miami (Oct. 26). She has also posted a perfect reception percentage in 12 league matches, while earning a .984 (288-for-292) rate of success for the MAC season.

Jacqui Seidel, who earns All-MAC honors for the first time in her career, helped guide the Ball State offense to a 15.19 kills-per-set average in league action by dishing out 10.95 assists per set. As a team, the Cardinals ranked second among all league schools with a .238 attack percentage. Seidel’s 63 assists versus Western Michigan (Nov. 16), which helped her earn her first career MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week award, were the most for a Ball State setter in a four-set match in the rally scoring era. She posted a career-high 64 assists one week earlier in a five-set match versus Toledo (Nov. 7). Seidel tallied seven assist/dig double-double in league play, including a career-best 21 digs and 40 assists at Toledo (Oct. 3).

The Ball State women’s volleyball team returns to action Friday, when it battles Western Michigan in the 7 p.m. quarterfinal match of the 2013 Mid-American Conference Tournament at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.